Which personality tests should you use to assess motivation, culture fit and integrity when hiring? Use a validated Big Five questionnaire for working style, a separate measure of motives or values for what drives someone, a culture fit test that compares the candidate with your own organisation, and an instrument with an integrity scale, such as a HEXACO or Big Six model, for roles where trust matters. One test rarely answers all four questions well, so combine short instruments that each do one job.
Personality tests are among the most used tools in selection, and among the most misused. Teams pick a popular type indicator, read the report as a verdict and wonder why the hire did not work out. This guide explains what personality, motives, culture fit and integrity each tell you, which instruments measure them, and how to use the results without letting a score make the decision.
This guide is written by Selection Lab, so our own assessments are in it. We also describe other approaches and say when they fit better.
A personality test describes relatively stable patterns in how someone thinks, feels and behaves. In hiring, it should help you answer practical questions:
There are no right or wrong answers on a personality test. A high score on extraversion is good for some roles and a poor fit for others. The value lies in comparing the profile with what the role demands. For a general overview of instruments, see our article on which personality tests are used in assessments.
These three are often mixed up, and many tests claim to measure all of them. They are different constructs and deserve different measures.
| Construct | Question it answers | Common models | Typical use in hiring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personality | How does someone usually behave? | Big Five, HEXACO | Fit with the behaviour a role demands |
| Motives and values | What drives someone's choices? | Schwartz's theory of basic human values | Fit with the rewards and autonomy of a role |
| Culture fit | In which work environment does someone thrive? | Competing Values Framework, two-axis culture models | Fit with the team and organisation |
| Integrity | Can you trust someone with responsibility? | Honesty-humility (HEXACO), integrity scales, ethics tests | Roles with money, data or a position of trust |
Two candidates can have the same personality profile and very different motives. One wants influence and achievement, the other security and a clear structure. Both can be conscientious. Only one of them will be happy in a fast-growing scale-up. That is why motives and culture fit add information that personality alone does not give.
Asking "what motivates you?" in an interview produces the same answers every time: challenge, development, a nice team. Candidates know what you want to hear. A structured measure of motives works better because it forces a choice.
Most motive and values instruments build on Schwartz's theory of basic human values. It describes universal values such as achievement, security, self-direction and benevolence. Vendors such as Assessio position a values test as a second layer: first assess fit with the job through personality and ability, then check whether someone's values match the organisation.
The Motives assessment from Selection Lab takes about two minutes. Candidates rank ten motives, including self-direction, achievement, security, influence and helpfulness, from most to least important. Because everything cannot be important in a ranking, the result shows which values actually steer someone's choices. All candidates rank the same ten motives, so you can compare them side by side.
"They just click" often means "they fit our culture", but few teams can say what that culture is. A culture fit test makes it explicit, and it works in two directions: you place the candidate and your organisation on the same model and compare.
The Culture Test takes about two minutes. Candidates pick what they like and dislike in a work culture. The test measures along two academic axes and eight culture styles: Caring, Purpose, Learning, Enjoyment, Results, Authority, Safety and Order, with 32 characteristics in total. You get a culture match score from 0 to 100, green and red flags, and suggested interview questions for each red flag. You can add up to six of your own core values. Your current team can take the test too, which shows the culture you actually have rather than the one on your website.
Use culture fit carefully. Hiring only people who resemble your current team reduces diversity and can lock in problems. Some organisations deliberately look for candidates who add something to the culture rather than mirror it.
The Big Five covers openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability. It is the most validated personality model, but it has no separate scale for honesty. Research on the HEXACO model, developed by Michael Ashton and Kibeom Lee, added a sixth factor: honesty-humility. It covers sincerity, fairness and modesty on one end, and deceit, greed and status-seeking on the other. A Dutch version was adapted and validated at VU Amsterdam.
For roles in finance, audit, healthcare, the public sector or board positions, that sixth factor matters. Integrity in the workplace is not only about fraud or theft. It also covers putting self-interest first, mistreating colleagues or bending rules under pressure.
There are several ways to measure it:
Integrity questionnaires are sensitive. Tell candidates what you measure and why, and never reject someone on one integrity score without a conversation.
| Assessment | Measures | Time | Format | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Five Personality | Big Five traits, 26 competency indicators, 10 core motives, 30 culture preferences | About 30 minutes | Questionnaire | A full profile for professional and senior roles |
| Personality, COTAN | Big Six including integrity, 25 sub-scales | About 20 minutes | Questionnaire (Dutch) | Roles where integrity matters, tenders that require COTAN |
| Personality Game | Big Five | 2 minutes | Game-based, rapid response | Early screening, any role |
| Big Five Swipeable | Big Five | 5 minutes | Swipe-based, mobile | High-volume hiring |
| Motives | Ranking of 10 motives | 2 minutes | Ranking | Any role where motivation matters |
| Culture Test | 8 culture styles, match score 0 to 100 | 2 minutes | Pick-and-click | Culture fit with your team |
| Workplace Ethics | Ethical decision-making at work | About 15 minutes | Multiple choice | Positions of trust, legal, finance, healthcare |
The Big Five Personality report compares each candidate with your benchmark and generates the ten most relevant interview questions. The short game and swipe formats rely on quick, instinctive responses, which leave less room for socially desirable answers. The Personality Game is validated against the academic BFI-2 questionnaire, with correlations up to .78.
For selection, use a validated instrument based on the Big Five or HEXACO model. Add a separate measure of motives and a culture fit test when those matter for the role. Type indicators such as MBTI are better suited to team development than to selection.
Yes, through an integrity or honesty-humility scale, as in the HEXACO model or the Big Six MPT-BS. Ethics tests and dilemma simulations add a view on how someone acts in concrete situations. Always discuss the outcome with the candidate.
Personality describes how someone usually behaves. Motives describe what drives their choices and what they value in work. Two people with the same personality can be motivated by very different things.
Early in the process, two to five minutes is enough for a reliable Big Five profile with a game or swipe format. A full questionnaire with competencies, motives and culture preferences takes about 30 minutes and fits better later in the process.
Candidates can try to give socially desirable answers on any questionnaire. Rapid-response and ranking formats make this harder, and comparing results with interview evidence helps you spot inconsistencies.
It can be, if you define the culture explicitly, measure it the same way for every candidate and do not use it to hire people who all look alike. Use the result as input for the interview, not as a final verdict.
Which personality tests should you use to assess motivation, culture fit and integrity when hiring? Use a validated Big Five questionnaire for working style, a separate measure of motives or values for what drives someone, a culture fit test that compares the candidate with your own organisation, and an instrument with an integrity scale, such as a HEXACO or Big Six model, for roles where trust matters. One test rarely answers all four questions well, so combine short instruments that each do one job.
Personality tests are among the most used tools in selection, and among the most misused. Teams pick a popular type indicator, read the report as a verdict and wonder why the hire did not work out. This guide explains what personality, motives, culture fit and integrity each tell you, which instruments measure them, and how to use the results without letting a score make the decision.
This guide is written by Selection Lab, so our own assessments are in it. We also describe other approaches and say when they fit better.
A personality test describes relatively stable patterns in how someone thinks, feels and behaves. In hiring, it should help you answer practical questions:
There are no right or wrong answers on a personality test. A high score on extraversion is good for some roles and a poor fit for others. The value lies in comparing the profile with what the role demands. For a general overview of instruments, see our article on which personality tests are used in assessments.
These three are often mixed up, and many tests claim to measure all of them. They are different constructs and deserve different measures.
| Construct | Question it answers | Common models | Typical use in hiring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personality | How does someone usually behave? | Big Five, HEXACO | Fit with the behaviour a role demands |
| Motives and values | What drives someone's choices? | Schwartz's theory of basic human values | Fit with the rewards and autonomy of a role |
| Culture fit | In which work environment does someone thrive? | Competing Values Framework, two-axis culture models | Fit with the team and organisation |
| Integrity | Can you trust someone with responsibility? | Honesty-humility (HEXACO), integrity scales, ethics tests | Roles with money, data or a position of trust |
Two candidates can have the same personality profile and very different motives. One wants influence and achievement, the other security and a clear structure. Both can be conscientious. Only one of them will be happy in a fast-growing scale-up. That is why motives and culture fit add information that personality alone does not give.
Asking "what motivates you?" in an interview produces the same answers every time: challenge, development, a nice team. Candidates know what you want to hear. A structured measure of motives works better because it forces a choice.
Most motive and values instruments build on Schwartz's theory of basic human values. It describes universal values such as achievement, security, self-direction and benevolence. Vendors such as Assessio position a values test as a second layer: first assess fit with the job through personality and ability, then check whether someone's values match the organisation.
The Motives assessment from Selection Lab takes about two minutes. Candidates rank ten motives, including self-direction, achievement, security, influence and helpfulness, from most to least important. Because everything cannot be important in a ranking, the result shows which values actually steer someone's choices. All candidates rank the same ten motives, so you can compare them side by side.
"They just click" often means "they fit our culture", but few teams can say what that culture is. A culture fit test makes it explicit, and it works in two directions: you place the candidate and your organisation on the same model and compare.
The Culture Test takes about two minutes. Candidates pick what they like and dislike in a work culture. The test measures along two academic axes and eight culture styles: Caring, Purpose, Learning, Enjoyment, Results, Authority, Safety and Order, with 32 characteristics in total. You get a culture match score from 0 to 100, green and red flags, and suggested interview questions for each red flag. You can add up to six of your own core values. Your current team can take the test too, which shows the culture you actually have rather than the one on your website.
Use culture fit carefully. Hiring only people who resemble your current team reduces diversity and can lock in problems. Some organisations deliberately look for candidates who add something to the culture rather than mirror it.
The Big Five covers openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability. It is the most validated personality model, but it has no separate scale for honesty. Research on the HEXACO model, developed by Michael Ashton and Kibeom Lee, added a sixth factor: honesty-humility. It covers sincerity, fairness and modesty on one end, and deceit, greed and status-seeking on the other. A Dutch version was adapted and validated at VU Amsterdam.
For roles in finance, audit, healthcare, the public sector or board positions, that sixth factor matters. Integrity in the workplace is not only about fraud or theft. It also covers putting self-interest first, mistreating colleagues or bending rules under pressure.
There are several ways to measure it:
Integrity questionnaires are sensitive. Tell candidates what you measure and why, and never reject someone on one integrity score without a conversation.
| Assessment | Measures | Time | Format | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Five Personality | Big Five traits, 26 competency indicators, 10 core motives, 30 culture preferences | About 30 minutes | Questionnaire | A full profile for professional and senior roles |
| Personality, COTAN | Big Six including integrity, 25 sub-scales | About 20 minutes | Questionnaire (Dutch) | Roles where integrity matters, tenders that require COTAN |
| Personality Game | Big Five | 2 minutes | Game-based, rapid response | Early screening, any role |
| Big Five Swipeable | Big Five | 5 minutes | Swipe-based, mobile | High-volume hiring |
| Motives | Ranking of 10 motives | 2 minutes | Ranking | Any role where motivation matters |
| Culture Test | 8 culture styles, match score 0 to 100 | 2 minutes | Pick-and-click | Culture fit with your team |
| Workplace Ethics | Ethical decision-making at work | About 15 minutes | Multiple choice | Positions of trust, legal, finance, healthcare |
The Big Five Personality report compares each candidate with your benchmark and generates the ten most relevant interview questions. The short game and swipe formats rely on quick, instinctive responses, which leave less room for socially desirable answers. The Personality Game is validated against the academic BFI-2 questionnaire, with correlations up to .78.
For selection, use a validated instrument based on the Big Five or HEXACO model. Add a separate measure of motives and a culture fit test when those matter for the role. Type indicators such as MBTI are better suited to team development than to selection.
Yes, through an integrity or honesty-humility scale, as in the HEXACO model or the Big Six MPT-BS. Ethics tests and dilemma simulations add a view on how someone acts in concrete situations. Always discuss the outcome with the candidate.
Personality describes how someone usually behaves. Motives describe what drives their choices and what they value in work. Two people with the same personality can be motivated by very different things.
Early in the process, two to five minutes is enough for a reliable Big Five profile with a game or swipe format. A full questionnaire with competencies, motives and culture preferences takes about 30 minutes and fits better later in the process.
Candidates can try to give socially desirable answers on any questionnaire. Rapid-response and ranking formats make this harder, and comparing results with interview evidence helps you spot inconsistencies.
It can be, if you define the culture explicitly, measure it the same way for every candidate and do not use it to hire people who all look alike. Use the result as input for the interview, not as a final verdict.
